Article: 33835 of alt.atheism Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!doc.ic.ac.uk!uknet!pipex!uunet!news.tek.com!tekgen!sail!mikec From: mikec@sail.labs.tek.com (Micheal Cranford) Newsgroups: alt.atheism Subject: Biblical slavery Summary: it's pro not con Keywords: bondman, bondmaid, primitive, slave Message-ID: <3549@tekgen.bv.tek.com> Date: 4 Aug 93 00:11:24 GMT Sender: news@tekgen.bv.tek.com Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR. Lines: 173 -------------------------------------------------------- Mark Silbernagel writes : >I, personally, don't agree that the Bible condones slavery. If you'd like >to pick up the thread in another forum, we can explore why. Which Bible did you have in mind? Every version that I am aware of is pro- slavery. You can easily find numerous pro-slavery statements from Genesis to Revelation. This isn't exactly surprising since these books were written by very primitive people. A sampling follows but note that the KJV bondman and bondmaid are euphemisms for male slave and female slave respectively; some of the other translations are more candid about this. ***King James Version*** Where is a good place to get slaves? This is answered below (from outsiders). LEV 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. The owner of the slave also owns any slave children that were born on the his land. LEV 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. The biblical diety intended slavery to last forever. But only "outsiders" were to be subjected to this (not the "chosen people" of course). LEV 25:46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour. Here is another good place to get slaves. If you don't kill all the children (in warfare) take some of the survivors as slaves. 1KI 9:20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, 1KI 9:21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. ***Revised Standard Version*** This is to show the correlation between two particular versions. There are, of course, many other different versions. LEV 25:44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you. LEV 25:45 You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. LEV 25:46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you, to inherit as a possession for ever; you may make slaves of them, but over your brethren the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness. 1KI 9:20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites, who were not of the people of Israel -- 1KI 9:21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to destroy utterly -- these Solomon made a forced levy of slaves, and so they are to this day. The below humor was unintentional! GEN 43:18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, to make slaves of us and seize our asses." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Quickly killing or seriously injuring a slave is a no-no (but a slow death seems ok). EXO 21:20 "When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. EXO 21:21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished; for the slave is his money. EXO 21:26 "When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free for the eye's sake. EXO 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free for the tooth's sake. EXO 21:32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. A master has sexual access to his female slaves even if they are engaged to be married to someone else. After all, slaves are just property. LEV 19:20 "If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave, betrothed to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; JOS 16:10 However they did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of E'phraim to this day but have become slaves to do forced labor. ECC 2:7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house; I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. ISA 14:2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves; they will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Although the opportunity was available, Jesus never freed any slaves. He also didn't have anything bad to say about slavery (there are other examples of these as well). This did not go unnoticed in the pro-slavery parts of the USA and Africa for example. LUK 7:2 Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. LUK 7:3 When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. LUK 7:10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well. EPH 6:5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ; COL 3:22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. 1TI 6:1 Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be defamed. TIT 2:9 Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to be refractory, This is just a small sampling since there are hundreds of biblical references that are either neutral or pro-slavery but curiously none that condemn slavery. -- UUCP: uunet!tektronix!sail!mikec or M.Cranford uunet!tektronix!sail.labs.tek.com!mikec Principal Troll ARPA: mikec%sail.LABS.TEK.COM@RELAY.CS.NET Resident Skeptic CSNet: mikec@sail.LABS.TEK.COM TekLabs, Tektronix